Federer relishing Wimbledon test

Roger Federer turned his focus to equalling Pete Sampras' tally of seven Wimbledon titles after pushing Rafael Nadal all the way in the French Open final on Sunday.

The 29-year-old had been written off as a fading force in men's tennis after going more than a year without reaching a grand slam final but he produced some of the best clay-court tennis of his career at Roland Garros, ending Novak Djokovic's unbeaten start to the season before going down 7-5 7-6 (7/3) 5-7 6-1 to Nadal in the final.

"That's obviously the huge priority right now, to win Wimbledon in a few weeks' time. That's always the number one goal in the season," said Federer. "This is where it all started for me back in 2003, or even with (the fourth-round win over) Sampras in 2001. So that's why I always really enjoy coming back."

Last year was a difficult one for Federer, who saw his record of reaching at least the semi-finals of 23 consecutive grand slams ended at Roland Garros, while he was beaten by Tomas Berdych in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Hiring Paul Annacone as coach certainly seemed to make a difference and he had match points to beat Djokovic in the semi-finals of the US Open before ending the year by winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Federer felt his results at the French Open had been coming, saying: "I've been confident for almost a year now.

"I think I lost some confidence maybe through the French Open and Wimbledon last year, but I was in the finals of Halle during this period so I didn't feel like I was running after confidence.

"It was important to get to another grand slam final and keep on playing well. I'm feeling better physically than I have in a long time, so that's been very positive."